Today, many companies have realised the importance of social media and social sites - such as YouTube, Wikipedia, Del.ici.ous or Digg - and have thrown themselves into the Web 2.0 pool in an attempt to generate viral marketing through creating fake blogs, PR releases and online videos. However, while marketing in the social media sphere may have considerable benefits, there is more than a wide scope for things to go wrong - as companies like Sony and Wal-Mart can testify only too well.
In an attempt to educate businesses on the new grounds of social media, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations has just released the first ever Social Media Guidelines, which includes a list of "dos and don'ts" when approaching social media platforms.
The key aspects covered by the Social Media Guidelines are the concepts of integrity, competence and confidentiality.
When posting content on any social media application, whether it's a blog, a podcast or otherwise, it is crucial to state the authorship of the content. Copying and pasting images or content breaks intellectual property law, and companies can easily get into trouble for not appropriately quoting the sources of the information provided.
In terms of confidentiality, care should be taken when posting your company, client or competitor information, especially if dealing with sensitive data. It is not wise to write statements that could harm the reputation of other people or companies - under UK law, this form of defamation can be legally prosecuted if proven.
Social media issues
'Astroturfing' is all about promoting your service or product by falsely propagating positive comments or content as independent members of the public. This has been practised by many well-known social media failures, such as Sony's fake PSP blog during their 2006 Christmas campaign. The fake blog - entitled "All I want for xmas is a PSP" was quickly spotted by fellow bloggers, who identified the owners of the domain as an advertising company.
'Pitching' to bloggers is another approach that companies are increasingly taking. After all, some blogs attract millions of visitors - so the temptation of influencing reputable bloggers continues to increase. Being open about a pitch is the best way forward and paying for a blog post is certainly neither ethical nor best practice for Social Media.
Reproducing the content of an e-mail can also get you into trouble, as the writers of the email can be regarded as authors of their own with copyright over their writings.
Additionally, when writing content for wikis, the individual submission guidelines should be read carefully. In the past, writing content for Wikipedia has been a relatively simple and unverified process. But with recent events, such as a fake university professor posting and editing hundreds of pages on Wikipedia, it is more likely that in the near future, users may have to demonstrate their identity and credentials before writing content on social media sites.
